Callisto's Court
by GreatWriter234
Summary: A young man is having a boring day until he ventures into the city and experiences weird events with his friends..


Chapter 1: Morning

He flipped the burger casually, feeling like his work day had gone on forever. He worked at

Big Burger, but he knew that its wasn't going to be forever. He stared at the fries cooking in

the back of the restaurant, and Peter was sure he would chill when he got back home.

Everyone in the restaurant had on bad multi-color print clothes, but he felt like it was an 80's

fad that would soon fade away. His friend Allen was playing basketball at a nearby facility,

and his other friend Mitch was at a party store buying party favors for one of his cousins. It

was like any other day, but when He got off at 2:00 he noticed that the people there seemed

to be calmer than usual. He saw an ad on the television that read, " Check out the sights and

sounds of Excitement Plaza!," The ad flashed, and people were dancing comically near the

building wearing oversized clothes.

He handed someone a tray full of food and then rushed out the door, glad to be leaving.

He had then called his sister before he had left, and was sure that she wasn't

at home.

His city council mother lived in another place, but she always checked in on him from time to

time. She always looked authoritative and official, but thats not how she really was. He

stepped inside his medium sized house and put on a small bracelet. He then walked to his

room and stared at a large green and blue alarm clock near his dresser, and quickly put a

large soft salty pretzel into his mouth. The plastic bag it had come in had pulled off easily, and

he sat on his bed quickly.

His friend Paul was zooming on rollerskates outside, and he wondered if he should take the tv ad

he saw at work seriously. Peter then started doing pushups, thinking of his day, and soon he

quickly fell asleep on the floor, a woman in a bikini smiling at him from a poster on his wall.

His sister slowly came into the building and she sighed, seeing that thier wallpaper still

looked as gaudy as ever. Peter could hear her come in as he slept, and a large guitar lay in

the corner of his room. Night quickly fell.

Peter awoke slowly, pulling the pillow near his hair close to him and flinging it across the room. It was 10 am. He had an

appointment at the clinic, and then he would go meet his friends at the new Excitement Plaza about 20 miles away.

He coughed slowly, and went to the kitchen and drank a small cup of water, then he quickly brushed his teeth and

got dressed. He pulled a leather jacket over his shoulder, and tied his hair back using a small rubberband. He

wondered if they would miss him at work, for he forgot to call in sick, and was sure they wouldn't mind anyway.

The sneakers he wore were a dirty blue, but they were laced tight, and he had a poster of a musician on his wall.

He slowly drove to the clinic, feeling slightly better after eating a rotten tuna sandwich. He had gotten food

poisoning for a food days, and quickly took some medicine the clinic had given him. He looked a the large plastic

phone in the clinic, and could hear the people behind the counter murmering to themselves. " A case of food

poisoning aye?" The doctor seemed to say to himself, then sauntered over to Peter and quickly handed him the bill.

"Pay us when you like, or atleast not too late.." The doctor said, and Peter nodded, quickly hurrying out of the clinic

door. He put his headphones on his head, listening to some catchy music on walkman, before he got in his car and

headed down to the Excitement Plaza, quickly picking up four of his friends. They were yelling and laughing

remembering him from highschool, though they didn't like him much. " Hey, wasn't your sister suppose to come with

us?" Paul said, feeling slightly sad his attractive sister wasn't there. " Yeah," Peter replied, remembering that Sally

was suppose to come with them, but she said she had to work late hours at the department store. His sister sally was

tall and had long blond hair, and always wore tight clothes, but she always teased Peter because he was introverted.

" Don't be at that silly arcade for too long.." He remembered her saying, and he glanced at the walkman near his

feet, the music turned off. He could see the Excitement Plaza in the distance, and he was sure they would have a

wild time. He clutched a beer can in his hand, and drank some of it slowly, steadily driving with the other.

" Yeah! Excitement Plaza!" One of his friend shouted, and Peter slightly grazed a mailbox before they arrived.

Sally was checking her watch, her manager at the department store, yapping about buying new curtains for her

oversized home. She crossed her arms and gazed at the merchandise, before slowly folding some clothes and putting them under the counter of the cash register. " Maybe I should have went to the arcade.." She said to herself,

but wasn't about to rush out of work to hang out with her younger brother. A customer slowly came to where she

was and slammed a turtleneck and pair of jeans on the table. " Ring me up, please," The older man said, staring at

the pretty young woman. " Sure, mister," SHe replied, and noticed that the clock on the back of the store seemed to

be going faster than usual. " I always enjoy buying clothes on Friday!" The man chuckled, and she began to put his

merchandise in a bag. " I hope my brother will be ok.." She said to herself, and a chill ran down her spine.

The older man slowly left after his purchase and Sally saw footprints on the ground from his dirty shoes.

" Well atleast I'll be busy.." Sally chuckled to herself.

He clutched the blue controller in his hands. It was like a link to his brain

and the images he could see on the nearby arcade cabinet screen. The

video game controller was hooked to a large circular box stuck on the

middle of the arcade Cabinet. There was a small lid covering it, and it could

be opened easily. The controller felt smooth to the touch, like a piece of

cleaned metal or hard silk. It Was like nothing he had ever experienced

before. The screen of the arcade cabinet was clear and round instead of

blocky and rectangular.

He had grown up well enough, cute girls always clamoring for his

number,trying to fit in. He just felt alive when he was doing something

reckless, maybe that's why his friends called him a reckless person. His car

was pretty old and beat up, but it got Peter around so he was happy.

He had always eaten his fill of whatever he wanted, but somehow he felt

unsatisfied. Maybe this arcade was the thing to get his blood pumping, like

no other thing had. Yeah he had tried marijuana once or twice, but he still

felt like he was bound to get a good job someday.

The picture on the screen slowly came into view, and the words " Callisto's

Court" flashed on the screen, in bright white and silver letters. "Press start

to play" appeared underneath the logo, and with a quivering hand, the

young man, in his early twenties, pressed on one of the hard buttons on the

controller. His eyes seemed to flash for a moment, and the words on the

screen shimmered and suddenly disappeared. He knew the game was

starting and he breathed a long sigh of anticipation.

The place where the arcade resided was in a large building called "

Excitement Plaza." It wasn't really a plaza, just a new building near a

clothing store ontop of a hill. The building was located near the lower west

side of Los Angeles. The neighborhood was relatively well off, but some of

the areas were unsafe after dark. Palm trees seemed to watch all who

passed by, and a beat up water fountain rested near the side of the

building. The man, Peter, had driven to the arcade with four of his friends,

Mitch, Victor, Allen, and Paul. Peter was pretty tall, and always wore dark

clothes to hide how much he hated his height. He had dark brown hair and

brown eyes, and a pair of shades rested on his forehead. Mitch was blond

and liked to wear a lot of leather, and had shoulder length hair.

Victor and Allen were brothers, and both were black, but Allen had long

dreadlocks and Victor had a curly Mohawk ontop of his head and a short

brown and red vest on with small tassles hanging from the bottom of it.

Paul had a long white turtleneck on and had messy red hair that seemed

to be cut very short. He played with the earring on his left ear. The year

was 1984 and the group seemed to enjoy watching Peter play "Callisto's

Court" in the newly opened arcade in the city's residential area. The palm

trees seemed to sway in the wind, and the cars passed by the unlit neon

sign of the building. The arcade was showcasing a new system called the

" System Sonar". Paul gazed at the other arcade cabinets resting sturdily in

the building, and could smell something baking in the arcade. Victor and

Allen seemed to watch in excitement and Mitch simply put a piece of gum

in his Mouth. The clear and round screen displayed mountains and a clear

blue sky, and then the screen zoomed in on a large 16 bit green meadow

with a large orange and red rock laying in the grass. Peter gasped as a

small icon appeared hovering above the meadow. It was a small digital

dandelion and it seemed to rotate in the same place while Peter sighed in

disappointment. "

Damn, man, that's it?" Mitch chuckled, and he stepped over to the small

pizza restaurant in the corner of the Excitement Plaza arcade. " I've seen

better at the movies," Paul sneered, and put his hands in his pockets. Mitch

saw a pretty girl with long black hair and purple highlights working there,

cleaning the countertop.

Chapter 2: Surprise

" I'd like a large pizza please, "

Mitch said, running his hands through his blond locks. " For me and

my friends."The girl working there noticed his smile, but the nametag she

had on seemed to be faded, and her name was unreadable. " Ofcourse!"

She replied cheerily, and she quickly wiped her hands on her black apron

and she had a white cotton shirt on underneath. " A lot of people love our

pizza, but I've only been working here for three months," She said, and she

gasped as she noticed a young man playing the new arcade cabinet that she

had set up hours before. "Is that Callisto's Court?" She yelled, not knowing

what type of game it was." Yeah, so?" Mitch replied, wondering why the

girl was so concerned. " You work in an arcade don't ya?" He said, slightly

annoyed.

" Yeah," she said coquettishly, " But there are so many different arcade

games here!" " What kind of pizza did you want?" She

asked the young man, smiling. " Uh, a vegetarian pizza, with extra cheese,"

Mitch replied. " Allright hold on…" The girl said.

"Ah man, We came all this way to the Excitement Plaza so

that Peter could rotate a digital flower…" Allen sighed, watching Peter play

the game on the System sonar quietly. Paul stepped to a soda machine

laying in the arcade, and quickly got a soda, noticing a stranger slowly

approach the building."Geez, I'm so thirsty today its wierd," Paul

muttered. Allen rolled his hazel eyes and Victor laughed quietly then saw

sparkling light appear near Peter and screamed.

Peter was lazily controlling the flower on the meadow near the large

orange and red rock when the controller started to spark and the round

arcade cabinet screen seemed to illuminate. He gasped in horror as the

small digital dandelion on the screen began to turn into a copy of himself,

and the circular lid attached to the arcade cabinet opened eerily, a thin

purple hexagon disc popping out of it and floating mystically. The words

"Callisto's Court" were written professionaly on a sticker on the hexagon

disc's front. Victor and Allen's eyes both seemed to pop out of their heads

as Peter disappeared, fully appearing on the meadow in the game. He was

wearing a dark yellow shirt with a dandelion on it, contrary to his own

personal style. Allen ran to a payphone near the entrance of the arcade,

clutching a quarter in his hand, to call for help, er, who was he joking, the

system sonar had come alive! He could dial 911. Maybe he would get

lucky! The payphone was pretty new and he wrapped his hand around the

hard plastic of it, but he too suddenly dissappared, the phone falling and

swinging in place where he had once been standing. Victor couldn't believe

his eyes, and the radio system in the arcade starting playing a pop song,

one too catchy for the situation. Victor watched in shock as his brother

appeared digitally in the video game, wearing a dark yellow shirt with a

phone symbol on it. " Oh my god!" The girl with the black and purple hair

said, quickly dropping the veggie pizza she had made for Mitch. It was the

middle of the afternoon, and Peter and his friends were the only ones

there, everyone else busy with their own lives. She blinked her eyes in

nervousness when the wooden hair clip on her hair, engraved with the

image of a swan, began to catch fire, and she too suddenly disappeared.

She magically appeared digitally inside the game, wearing a small black

robe with silver on the side. Paul yelled and dropped the sweet, fizzy soda

he was drinking and tried to run to the restroom.

Maybe he could lock himself inside and escape that possessed system

sonar! But as soon as he got near the door he too disappeared.

He appeared inside the game near the green grassy meadow wearing a

dark yellow shirt with a heart on it. His video game face look frustrated.

" This shit is not happening!" Mitch proclaimed, his dark leather pants

and red flannel shirt seeming to shake in the light of the arcade. "I'm

getting the hell out of here!" Victor called to Mitch, running for the door as

the system sonar seemed to glow brighter and brighter. Victor passed the

quarter his brother had dropped near the payphone encased in it's

rectangular plastic shell. The system sonar's blue controller seemed to

extend unnaturally and wrapped itself around Mitch's leg and he struggled

with it as Victor ran past him. " Help me man!" Mitch said desperately as

Victor was about to leave, his hands on the door to the "Excitement Plaza".

He began to swing the large plastic door open, but he turned his head and

saw Mitch being dragged ominously toward the round translucent screen.

" Fuck this isn't happening!"

Victor said, as he ran towards Mitch and tried to help him. He gasped as he

saw Peter, Allen, Paul, and the restaurant girl moving inside the game,

looking around. Dandelion, phone, robe, and heart all side by side. They

were all huddled on the meadow near the large rock. Mitch's blue eyes

looked around for something to grab onto and he suddenly grabbed

Victor's arm quickly. Mitch screamed as he let go of Victor's arm, his long

blond hair hugging the arcade's dirty floor. Victor seemed to multiply, the

offbeat catchy pop tune still playing inside the arcade. His different forms

began to fade in and out erraticly and suddenly Victor and his copies were

sucked inside the game itself, along with his brown and red vest. "Damn it!"

Victor shrieked as he appeared inside the game wearing a dark yellow shirt

and a puff of smoke somehow on it. He looked around and saw Paul and

Allen there, wondering what the hell was going on. Peter was combing his

dark brown hair with his switchblade comb, his shades somehow missing.

Allen was looking around wildly, the telephone still visible on his dark

yellow shirt. Victor then noticed the girl with the black robe on move

towards him." Are you ok?" She said, her dark brown eyes hiding her fear.

She noticed that her nametag had fallen off, along with her change of

wardrobe. Victor looked at her seriously and said, " Yeah, I'm fine. How

about you?" She smiled and replied, " Not that great, but I've been in

worse situations…"adjusting the wooden hairclip on her head. Peter could

see Mitch from inside the arcade game, it was like seeing someone through

a big drive in theater screen. His large body seemed laughable given the

situation. Peter had never been stuck in a video game before. The blue

controller was still wrapped around Mitch's leg and he was moving closer

and closer to them.

" Why did I press play!" Peter said, as he stared at the large barrier screen

floating above the meadow. He wished he could help Mitch somehow.

Peter leaned against the large orange and red rock resting on the meadow

of Callisto's saw Allen move around the meadow, his long

dreadlocks seeming to give his position away. " Yo Allen, you allright

dude?" Peter said, putting his switchblade comb away. " Yeah man, just

swell," Allen said, dusting his clothes off with his hand. He kept searching

for a way out, but couldn't find one. " So uh, what's your name?" Victor

asked the girl who worked in the restaurant before the arcade cabinet went

crazy. " Tanya," she replied quickly, then gasped as she noticed Peter

somehow falling backwards and being pulled into the rock he was leaning

on." Wow, your friend just fell into that rock!" Tanya said, pointing to it.

Victor quickly turned his head. " What the fuck…" Victor said, the rock front

seeming to mock him, the meadows grass clawing at his jeans. He ran to

the rock and pounded it with his fists, trying to help Peter. Paul ran to

where Tanya and Victor were, trying to help.

" This place is just full of surprises, " Paul moaned, staring at

the heart symbol on his dark yellow shirt. " Maybe it was meant to be.."

Tanya chuckled, the black robe still on her body. Paul then smiled, and

wondered why he got pulled into a video game after getting a soda.

Mitch's image seemed to be the only link to them and the

outside world. Mitch clawed at the floor of the Excitement Plaza, his friends

moving around the circular screen like small action figures. He could feel

the system sonar's controller wrap tighter around his leg and he screamed

as he was suddenly teleported into the game. He appeared on the meadow

just as his friends had and he had a dark yellow shirt on with a raindrop on

it. He suddenly realized he shared the same fate as his friends,a prisoner of

Callisto's Court!

" Am I dreaming or what?" Mitch moaned, and then he noticed the

restaurant girl from before running towards him. Her pale skin seemed to

gleam in the light of the meadow." Hey, its you!" Mitch said, wondering

what was so important. " My name's Tanya!" She sneered, and stopped to

catch her breath," Like, I can't believe the pizza guy who ordered from me

is here too!" She wailed, and Mitch rolled his eyes. She noticed Allen

heading towards them. She put her hands on her hips nervously. "Where's

Peter?

" Allen asked them. " He was here just a minute ago…"

He fell into the rock or something.." She said, and Mitch noticed they had

symbols on their shirts too, except for Tanya. Paul was kicking the rock,

trying to find an opening and Victor was heading to where Mitch was.

" OK, so Peter just fell into a rock and it's hot as hell out here and I have a

weird symbol on my shirt…" Victor mumbled…not liking the situation. " It

seems like the symbols on our shirts are suppose to mean something…"

Allen said, feeling slighty better. He then noticed the phone symbol on his

dark yellow shirt again, and looked at his brother. " Peter had a dandelion, I

have a phone, Mitch has a water drop, Paul has a heart, and my bro has a

puff ofsmoke…" Allen said , confused.

" Why don't you have a symbol?" He asked Tanya, seeing her look slightly less

afraid. " I don't know..ok?" Tanya replied, and then she noticed a large lake

inthe distance. " Atleast we have water here, I'm heading towards that

lake!" Tanya said, and started jogging towards it. She noticed she had

bright yellow high heels on after getting pulled into the game. " Hey wait

up!" Mitch said, following her, wondering how she could be so brave. Paul

noticed the others talking in the distance and headed towards Victor and

Allen. " They're headed towards the lake, let's go!" Victor said, his mohawk

gleaming in the , Allen and Victor followed Tanya and Mitch,

the lake glowing in the distance..but there was something amiss with it.

Victor didn't notice that the orange and red had a small dandelion symbol

hidden on the side of it, the symbol moving like hot steam.

Chapter 3: Chimera

Peter suddenly fell into a dark cavern, his eyes slowly adjusting to the

dim light. He wondered why he suddenly fell into a rock in Callisto's Court

and felt like he was the unluckiest person in the world. "Why me!" He

proclaimed, dusting his knees and arms off, large pieces of broken wood

laying near his feet. The cavern he was in was murky, dusty, and damp, and

he suddenly noticed a large, feline like creature rumbling towards him in

the darkness. The inside of the rock must have been as large as a football

field, and he noticed a torch attached to a wall light up eerily as he passed

it. He looked up and the top of the cave must have been covered by stone

and atleast 20 feet high. The creature in the distance appeared about seven

feet away from him. " Oh shit!" Peter proclaimed. seeing the hulking feline

rock monster appear before him like a mix between an unnatural bulldozer

and a very large puppet. The rock creature resembled a chimera, looking

like a lion with large sharp stone wings, and a tail that resembled a

crumbling serpent. He yelled and jumped back as it suddenly leapt towards

him and clawed at him with his large, stony paws. It seemed to have two

heads, the other one resembling a very angry goat. It's claw scratched the

ground, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. "Why why why..." Peter

muttered, his voice seeming to echo in the musky, damp cavern. Peter fell

to his knees in fear, almost peeing himself. The creature roared and the

large pieces of wood near Peter's feet began to shake and then slowly

levitate towards it's body. The broken wooden planks seemed to form a

sort of makeshift armor, protecting the stone beast. Peter fell on his back

and tried to crawl away, but the chimera stepped on his leg violently,

causing him to reel in pain. Peter suddenly pulled the switchblade comb

from his pocket, switching to the knife part, and stabbed furiously at the

chimera, but it seemed to have no effect. "Is that all?" The stone creature

chuckled, peering at Peter with malevolent eyes. It's two heads moved

slowly, and it's stone serpent tail smacked Peter in the face, leaving a bright

red whelp on his cheek. Peter clutched his chest, his heart beating rapidly,

The stone creature stepped even closer, opening it's crumbling jaws, razor

sharp stalagtite teeth visible in the dim cave. Peter's eyes grew dim as he

dropped his switchblade comb, and he whispered, "Eagle..."

The creature opened it's jaws even wider, ready to devour him whole,

when the beast was suddenly sent flying back by some force, flipping like

an acrobat,it's bulbous claws scratching the ground in anger, landing a short

distance away. Peter's whole body shook and his arms extended into wings

and he noticed the dark cavern slowly light up by his own force. "An eagle

born eh?" The stone monster shrieked as Peter completely transformed

into a seven foot eagle, eyeing the stone creature with rage. Feathers

seemed to float all around him, and his clothes were lying on the cavern

floor. " I won't die..that easily foul creature!" Peter's eagle form seemed to

say. " How incredible!" Peter thought to himself. He noticed his comb on

the floor of the illuminated cavern, when he had tried to strike the chimera.

"Parlor Tricks.." The beast rumbled...ready to pounce again. The beast

gnashed it's teeth, the broken wooden planks on it's body glowing red.

Dandelions seemed to to be moving around his eagle form, somehow

making him lighter.

Peter suddenly flew at the creature diagonally, and his feathers became like

razors, and he glided past the beast, his wing cutting the creature fiercely.

" I can't believe I just did that," Peter said to himself again, flying about the

cavern, the stone chimera reeling in pain. Green blood dripped from the

stone chimera's side, where Peter's wing had pierced it. Peter flew to the

front of the cavern, wondering how much pain the chimera could take.

Peter dove at the stone monster quickly, cutting it again and again in arcs,

more green blood dripping on the floor of the cavern. "It's too strong,"

Peter said to himself, the chimera's tail whipping the floor in anger.

The chimera shrieked in pain, and Peter, exhausted, glided down to the

bottom of the cavern, returning to his normal form, and passed out.

Tanya, Allen, Victor, Mitch, and Paul finally arrived at the shimmering lake

in the distance of the meadow. A large rock was near the edge of the lake

like the one that had been in the middle of the field. " Damn ya'll that jog

took the wind out of me," Mitch said, breathing hoarsely. Allen agreed,

gasping for breath, glad that the run in the hot weather was over. This

water looks crystal clear," Paul said, wiping the sweat off his forehead, and

noticed that Tanya was taking off her black robe with silver on it. She was

wearing a tight dark yellow short sleeved shirt and blue jeans. Her shirt had

a tree symbol on it, and she was glad to finally remove her robe. " You

kinda looked like the grim reaper with that robe on," Paul said slyly, and

Tanya just laughed. " I knew you had a symbol too!" Allen said, brushing a

dreadlock from his cheek. " This is the strangest place I've ever seen," Tanya

replied, looking at the lake and quickly cupped some water in her hand,

drinking it. A wooden swan slowly appeared on her shoulder, and she

shrieked in surprise. Victor burst out laughing, seeing a swan appear out of

nowhere. " Damn, I should ask for a swan too!' he said, staring at the

ornately carved thing. The wooden swan seemed to squak in reply. Victor

was genuinely wierded out. " Ha ha, very funny!" She said, and looked

around. Paul noticed faint glimmers of something above the pool. where a

large dead tree seemed to be. "Man, I hope Peter is ok.." Mitch said,

thinking about his friend. They all moved away from the lake, trying to

figure out what to do next. " Look, I like this place and all but how the hell

did we get transported into a video game..." Mitch said, still looking

around. " I'm sure Peter will be allright," Victor said, staring at a frog near

the side of the shimmering lake. There was a small plant near the lake and

strawberries where growing from it. "Check me out Tanya!" Mitch said,

taking off his shirt and flexing. Tanya just stared at him and rolled her eyes.

"Really..." she seemed slightly emberassed. "These symbols must do

something you guys, " Allen said, staring at the phone on his dark yellow

shirt again. " Like I could totally use a dip in the lake, but there's so much

wierd stuff going on.." Tanya said, as the swan perched on her shoulder

looked around quizically. "This ain't no joke, we gotta get out of here

somehow!" Victor said, a copy of himself appeared next to him

fantastically, then dissappeared in a puff of smoke. " The fuck?" Victor said,

staring at the rising smoke. " Awesome my man, I guess we know what the

puff of smoke means!" Mitch said, pleased with himself. Tanya laughed,

then noticed the swan on her shoulder seemed to be afraid of something.

" You guys got the good stuff, I just have a heart on my shirt, lame." Paul

muttered.

Peter awoke slowly in the newly illuminated cavern, his whole body

bruised and aching. He still had the bruise on his cheek from the chimera's

tail, and he felt slightly cold. He quickly put his clothes back on, and started

searching for a way out of the cavern. The chimera seemed to be nowhere

in sight. " Did I really kill that stone monster?" His dark brown hair was

visible in the light of the musky cave, rocks resting beneath his feet. He

found his switchblade comb and put it back into his pocket, and took a long

breath of air, his leg still hurting from when the chimera had stepped on it.

" I have to find my friends," he said to himself, unsure of where to go. A

small dandelion seemed to be floating near him, and as he got closer to it, it

seemed to move deeper into the cave. He decided to follow it as a guide.

He made long strides through the cavern.

Tanya stared down at her yellow high heels, and noticed Allen was still

scanning the lake for anything suspicious. Suddenly the frog near the lake

opened it's mouth and Allen could hear it. " If you would like to make a

collect call, please hang up and dial again!" The frog croaked. Allen just

laughed. " For real, a talking frog?" The lake then started to slowly boil,

spheres of water popping from the surface quickly. Mitch seemed to be

making the water boil, concentrating on the water with a serious grin.

He then moved closer to the lake, feeling better. " Easy.." Mitch said to

himself. " You can control water, but that's kinda useless.." Paul said, and

Victor seemed to agree. Mitch started to make the lake boil again,and he

noticed a large lily pad appear from beneath the water. " A lily pad?" Mitch

said, and then he noticed it was floating closer to where they stood. " Oh

shit!" Allen cried, as he noticed a giant icy arachnid appear from behind the

large dead tree, and it slowly descended upon the lily pad heading towards

them. A creature that looked like a man with the head of a platypus

appeared out of the boiling water, and it's webbed hands reached for them

evilly, shambling and shaking as it got closer to them. The closest to the

platypus man was Paul and he stepped back in fear. " Get away!" He

screamed, knowing he should run but he was too afriand. Suddenly a large

giant heart seemed to erupt from his hand and it headed toward the

creature. It seemed to be made out of air. The heart touched the platypus

creature and it slowly turned red and then gazed in horror as it shattered

into pieces. "What..was that..." Paul said, still afraid as the large spider was

slowly drifting towards them. "Seemed like a heartbreaker...but it won't

help for a giant spider." Mitch said, feeling uneasy. The ice spider's seven

eyes where flashing, it's chelicera were snapping wildly. Paul tried to shoot

a heart at the spider, but it seemed to be protected by the lily pad. "Great a

giant spider!" Victor said, moving back slightly. " It's a glacier widow!" Allen

said, looking at the thing. " I guess..." Tanya said, then screamed as she

noticed the spider looked like pieces of broken glass while it's abdomen

seemed to have snow covering it. "It's getting too close!" She said, her

voice full of fear. Allen quickly picked up the frog he had seen earlier from

the edge of the lake and moved back to where the others where. The

glacier widow lifted itself slightly and shot a strand of web from it's

abdomen and it hit the strawberry bush, freezing it instantly. Mitch tried to

splash the spider with boiling water, but the lily pad seemed to shield it

somehow. " This is too much ya'll!" Mitch cried, feeling helpless. Allen

gazed at the spider and noticed it was saying something. " FOols WhO enter

here!" The spider seemed to say, and Allen was suprised he could

understand it.

" A magic dandelion is always handy.." Peter said to himself, still

following the flower. The large stone creature had frightened him badly.

He remembered it snarling alot, but he somehow got through it. The

dandelion stopped near a large hole in the side of the cave. It seemed to

lead to somewhere, but where? It looked about three feet wide and three

feet tall. He would have to crawl through it to get out of the cavern. He

began to crawl through it, leaving the hauntingly lonely cavern behind. He

didn't seem to notice the large rose growing inside the cave. He seemed to

crawl for minutes until his skin felt icy, and his head felt cold. He suddenly

tumbled out of the passageway from a large rock, and he fell and landed

near a frozen strawberry bush. He saw Mitch, Tanya, Victor, Allen and Paul

all standing in fear in the middle of the meadow, and he wondered why

they were all so afraid. His thigh was aching and his arms felt like spaghetti.

"Look, there's your friend!" Tanya said, pointing to Peter who had finally

emerged from the cavern. "Peter, get back!" Victor said, feeling glad Peter

was ok. Peter's body looked bruised and beaten for some reason.

" What's going on?" Peter said, and then he turned his head to the left and

saw the large ice spider resting on it's lily pad. It must have been the size of

a small truck, and it's icy legs skittered on the huge lily pad. " Oh Shit!"

Peter said, and he covered his face in fear. " We have to help him!" Paul

said, and Victor nodded his head. Suddenly Victor made a copy of himself

appear beside his body, and it ran towards where Peter was, still hiding his

face from the giant spider with his arms. The glacier widow seemed to

cackle, and it shot a silky, glistening, strand of web at Peter, but the copy of

Victor seemed to get in the way. The copy of Victor froze instantly, and

began to crack and then dissappeared in a puff of smoke. " Run Peter!"

Tanya said, and Peter uncovered his face and slowly stood up and ran to

where the others were. " How did you guys piss of an ice spider? Peter

asked Allen once he reached them his body still shaking in fear. " Don't ask

pretty boy, we're as scared as you!" Tanya replied, helping Peter stop

shaking. Mitch froze the water near the glacier widow's lily pad, and it

seemed to be stuck for a moment. " That should buy us some time.." Mitch

said, Allen still holding the frog in his hands. " We need to get away from

the lake!" Mitch said. " We should be in a safer area!" Victor agreed. "I've

never been in so much danger in my life," Peter said, and he suddenly

remembered his family. His father was a plumber and his mother was on

the city council. He had remembered getting up that day, brushing his

teeth, and seeing an ad for the Excitement Plaza. What a ripoff! He had met

Victor and Allen in highschool, and he had met Mitch when they had played

basketball a few times. Paul was gardener and cut his mother's grass, so he had

invited him to the Excitment Plaza too. All of this was out of this world.

Peter noticed a small hut in the distance, and alerted the others. " Hey guys

let's head for that small hut, maybe we can hide in there!" Peter said,

pointing to it. Allen could still hear the glacier widow nearby, mocking

them. "Strawberries are for nice guests..." The spider hissed. "I can hear

that spider guys!" Allen said, and Mitch was suprised. "Really, what did it

say?" Mitch asked Allen. " It said strawberries are for nice guests..." Allen

replied, feeling slightly seasick. " The hell does that mean?" Paul muttered.

Victor noticed Peter wanted them to head for the hut in the distance. " We

can talk about this later, let's just run!" Victor said, and they all started

running to the hut in the distance. It must have been about a mile away.

They were all exhausted. " I hate running in this heat," Allen whined. The

glacier widow finally broke free from Mitch's icy trap, and began to swirl

the water with one of it's legs. " Ice Knight, Guardian of the depths, I

summon you!" The glacier widow seemed to say, it's body moving wildly on

the giant Lily Pad. Suddenly a giant knight made of ice arose from the

water, splashing the side of the meadow, it's body covered in rusted armor,

it's blade made of pure ice. It's eyes glowed white, and an icy aura seemed

to flow from it's helmet.

Chapter 4: Vintage

All six of the young adults continued to sprint

towards the hut and they finally reached thier destination. The grass of the

meadow had brushed their legs gently, and they were glad to finally be able

to rest. " Man I hate all of this running..."Mitch complained and Peter was

just glad to be out of that creepy cave. " What the hell happened Peter?"

Victor said as they all rested outside the large straw hut that had one

window covered by a curtain." It was a wierd stone creature and something

happened to it," was all that Peter could say. The hut had a straw door over

it and Tanya stared at the structure quietly. " Let's check it out!" Tanya said,

slightly afraid to step inside it. " Well I'm glad you're allright man," Allen

muttered, and Peter pulled open the straw hut door, and all six of them

slowly stepped inside. Mitch gasped as he looked around the hut and saw a

beautiful woman, sitting on a seat made of stone, but there was something

different about her. Her skin seemed to be made out of wax and her hair

seemed to be a large swirl on the top of her head. Her face was plain but

there was alot of care taken into her design. A small fireplace was in the

back of the hut, and a silver bracelet around her arm seemed to prevent

her from melting. Her body was average and she wore a dress made out of

paper mache. There was a glass table near her body, and bag of chocolate

turtles seemed to be resting on it. Black shiny shoes rested on her feet and

Allen could see a plastic pink flamingo in the corner of the hut and also a

rug. There was a large wooden flower pot in the back.

A bucket of water also rested near the table. " Sorry to barge in like this.."

Tanya said sheepishly, her wooden swan seeming to eye the wax woman

cautiously. "Your hut is nice," Victor seemed to say, feeling like he was

finally in a safe place. The wax woman yawned and looked at them all again

her lips ruby red. She picked up a small brush and seemed to comb her wax

swirl with it. The frog in Allen's hands croaked and he wondered if coming

in was a good idea. " So uh, what's your name?" Paul said, seeing the paper

mache dress the wax woman wore had flowers on it. " This place is

so..familiar.." Peter said, the wax woman putting her hand in the bag of

choclate turtles. " I wasn't expecting guests," She said kindly, then put the

chocolate turtle into her mouth and bit on it hard. " And my name is

Octavia..," She said quickly, seeming to savor the chocolate in her mouth.

" Octavia huh...that seems like a real regal name..." Mitch replied, his shirt

still off and seeming to enjoy the situation. " You've got guts coming in here

like that," Octavia cooed, and then stood up slowly, and then stared at

Peter for some reason. " You must like silver, a real silver woman," Victor

said, unsure of what Octavia was going to do. " Why don't you take your

shirt off too Peter?" Mitch said, trying to impress Octavia. " Nah man I'm

cold," Peter replied, feeling like Mitch was being mean. " Man ya'll are no

fun," Mitch replied,his leather pants gleaming in the firelight. "Not

everyday you see such a nice hut," Paul teased, and Octavia twirled, then

pointed at Peter. " I am a real silver woman!" She laughed, " And all of you

are barging into my hut!" She seemed unhappy and she snapped her

fingers, and the door to the hut slammed shut. Octavia giggled, and all six

of them suddenly became afraid. "State the nature of your emergency! The

frog in Allen's hands seemed to croak, and Allen was unsure of what to do.

" Well, we'll be going now!" Tanya said, but the door of the wooden hut

wouldn't move.

" I uh...like your glass table," Tanya then said waiting for Octavia to speak.

"Maybe you need a scarf!" She said, looking at Mitch, then she snapped her

fingers and a black scarf appeared and wrapped itself around his face, and

he pulled at it fiercely. " Mmpph unn!" Mitch said, finally pulling the scarf

free from his face. " Cut it out darlin'" Mitch said, and he crossed his arms

angrily. "But you're the ones being rude!" Octavia hissed, and snapped her

fingers again, and a large shoe appeared and flew at Peter and hit him in

the face. He rubbed his cheek in pain, and glared at Octavia." Really, a

shoe?" Peter said, and then snapped the pink flamingo

in her hut in half. " What rudeness!" Octavia sneered, and snapped her

fingers again, and a large pink shirt appeared and wrapped it's sleeves

around Tanya's throat. " Stop it!" Tanya cried, and pulled the pink sleeves

from her throat after a few minutes. Octavia then snapped her fingers at

Victor and Paul, and two oversized wool caps appeared over thier faces,

blinding them. They quickly threw both of them to the ground. " And as for

you, Mr. Dreadlocks!" Ocatavia said, and Allen slowly hummed, a large

translucent green barrier covering his body. She snapped her fingers at

Allen, but her magic seemed to have no effect. " Damn!" She muttered, and

Tanya's wooden swan squaked, lifting the wooden flower pot off the

ground and the pot turned upside down, the flowers falling to the floor.

"Give us a break lady, it's scary out there!" Allen muttered, and Octavia

seemed to calm down. "There was a big ice spider outside and it was trying

to get us.." Mitch said, explaining the situation. " Yeah it's coming after us

for sure," Paul replied, and Octavia sat back down crossing her legs. " Well I

suppose I could take you to the ampitheater..." She said,staring at her wax

fingernails. " We'd like that very much," Peter replied, and the door to the

straw hut flung open suddenly. "I'm sure there's a heart of gold there

somewhere," Victor said, and Octavia smiled. " The glacier widow controls

the lake," She seemed to say and she stepped outside, and all six of them

seemed to follow her. " If she saw you, then the ice knight is surely coming

to capture you all," She seemed to say, twirling again once she was outside.

Mitch seemed to stare at her sexy wax form. Suddenly a large australian

shepherd appeared from behind the hut, barking slowly. Octavia kneeled

down and petted it slowly. " So uh, what's your dog's name?" Mitch asked,

the breeze blowing the grass of the meadow and nearby cat tails slowly.

"His name's lucky, my most prized possession!" Octavia said, and then

turned to them all quickly. " Damn, I'm starving," Victor said, wanting one

of those chocolate turtles in Octavia's hut. " We should head to the

ampitheater quickly," Octavia said, " Before it gets dark!" She then

sauntered behind the hut and they all followed her down a stone lined path

that seemed to go on for hours. "Can we really trust her?" Allen asked

Peter and he shrugged his shoulders. " Can't be worse than a giant spider,"

He said, his yellow dandelion shirt still clutching his chest. Tanya, Mitch,

Victor, and Paul all followed Octavia, staring at the flowers lining the stone

path. They came to large clearing where a stone ampitheater stood, eight

round tables infront of it, the whole structure curved like a crescent. The

tables had white tablecloths on them and there was a large black piano

ontop of the ampitheater and a pair of steps led down the tables. Blue

flowers rested atop the tables and there were fireflies buzzing

everywhere. Tanya squeeled in delight. " Finally a place to chill!" Peter said,

feeling like he'd been through an ordeal. Paul saw that there was a large

crystal chandelier hanging from the top of the ampitheater, and he

wondered why Octavia had taken them there. Lucky was quickly following

them all, his tail wagging profusly. Allen could hear the dog's words oddly.

" She's so nice!" The dog seemed to say with a bark, and Allen thought that

this place wasn't so bad after all. "You think I could score with a wax

woman?" Mitch asked Paul, and Paul simply laughed. "Maybe, once we get

something to eat," Paul replied, and they all walked down the hill to the

path that lead to the round dining tables. White chairs were lined all

aroundthe tables and Tanya noticed there was man

cleaning the tables and he seemed to have a..tail? He was half man, half

tiger, but he was very attractive. " Is that a tiger?" Tanya said quietly, and

Octavia ran to the tiger in the white shirt and dress pants, her dress leaving

nothing to the imagination. " Theodore!" Octavia said, waltzing to the tiger

in the nice clothes and he gave her a big hug. "My lovely Octavia!" He said

huskily, his body was athletic , but his voice was very deep.

She gave him a big hug and he noticed that she

had brought people with her. " Yes, darling Theodore, these are my

friends!" " Nice to meet ya," Peter said, and Victor and Allen simply

nodded. Peter's dark brown hair clutched the side of his face. Paul didn't

say anything, he just simply yawned but Mitch was glad to finally sit down.

" Well welcome to our grand ol' ampitheather, the best in all the land!"

Theodore said, his tiger tail twitching as the sun began to set. Octavia

snapped her fingers and a large microphone and stand appeared next to

the large black piano on the stage. " This place is like the Ritz!" Paul said,

and Allen held the frog gently in his hands. A parrot slowly flew towards

them, holding a tray with bottles of beer on it. The tray seemed to float

magically near the parrot as it glided towards them. " I'm such a bad host,

please have a seat!" Octavia said as they all grabbed bottles of beer and sat

down. The round table was very comfortable, and there seemed to be

white plates all around them. Silverware was on the side of the plates and a

napkin rested in the middle of the table. " So, what were your names

again," Octavia giggled as the parrot flew towards her and she plucked a

sparkling apple martini off the tray and placed it near her. " I'm Peter,"

Peter said, taking out his switchblade comb and combing his hair with it

casually. "Tanya," Tanya said, the wooden swan on her should looking

around quietly. " Yo, I'm Victor!" Victor said, leaning back slightly in the

chair around the table. "Allen ma'm," Allen said, his dreadlocks swaying in

the wind. "Paul," Paul waved to Octavia, his red hair contrasting with the

white tablecloth. " Mitch.." Mitch said, crossing his arms, his shirt still off

and his blond hair hugging his shoulders. "Well it's nice to meet you all!"

Octavia purred, her paper mache sleeve strap, hanging from her shoulder.

Theodore's tiger ears twitched and he pulled a packet of cigarettes from his

pocket, his white dress shirt too tight for his athletic body. He lit the

cigarette quickly, and puffed on it, Octavia staring at the man. " How do I

look Octavia?" Theodore asked, and he flexed and she smiled, taking a drink

of her apple martini. " Simply dashing!" She replied, and Theodore noticed

Peter was looking at him. " I do enjoy a good smoke," Theodore said, and

his eyes seemed to flash at Peter. " THis place is nice, but I kinda miss the

pizza shop!" Tanya whined, her purple highlights making her look cute.

Peter was only 22 but he felt like he could take care of himself. " Me too,

this is so strange," Peter said, eyeing the round plate next to him. Maybe

we should have a round of salad!" Octava piped, as Paul noticed it had

finally gotten dark. " Ofcourse my peche!" Theodore said, and moved to a

small rectangular table that had a bowl of mixed salad on it. He quickly

picked up the plastic bowl and pulled tongs from his tuxedo shirt, and

Tanya noticed his chest was exposed slightly. Theodore moved around the

table and put salad on each of their plates, and then came back with a

smaller bowl and sprinkled croutons on each of thier salads. Peter

remembered that his dad had bought him a leather jacket for his birthday

when he was 17, and hadi wrapped it in gaudy wrapping paper. His dad had

driven up in an old beat up truck, given him the gift, hugged him, then went

back to work. His mother had just gotten out of a city council meeting, and

had wondered if Peter would ever find a good part time job. Peter hadn't

liked highschool very much, so he decided to take piano lesson in his free

time.

" Oh you're such a tease Theodore!" Octavia said, as he set two

large spoon cups full of honey mustard onto the round table, Two lamps

near the back of the ampitheater barely illuminated everything. " Wont

the ice knight find us?" Mitch said, pouring honey mustard onto his salad

using the spoon. " No, that creature is slow!" Octavia said, not sure why he

would bring up something like that.

Tanya took a swig of her beer, and brushed her hair behind her ear. " Don't

drink the beer!" Lucky seemed to bark and Allen gasped in fear. "Uh guys,

the dog just said don't drink the beer!" Allen told them, but Octavia simply

smiled. "You can understand animals now?" Paul muttered, and he ate

some of his salad, feeling like he had earned it."That beer is perfectly fine!"

Octavia said. Lucky is just jealous of the company!

"Try it!" She insisted, her ruby red lips glowing in the dark.

All of them drank the beer grudgingly,

feeling more woozy by the minute. "Voila, a salad menagerie! Theodore

said. " Some people prefer thier salads dry, but I prefer mine sweet..." He

seemed to mutter, and he lit another cigarette putting it into his mouth.

" This place is so magical..even after dark," Allen said, staring at the fireflies

buzzing around. Victor suddenly laughed, feeling like Theodore was being

far too nice. " Something amusing?" Theodore said, leaning against a round

wooden table. He nibbled on a candy bar that had been resting on the

table. " Nothing, nothing at all," Victor said, eating his salad, the

tomato squishing in his mouth. " This video game sure is tricky.." Mitch

suddenly said, but Tanya put a finger over her mouth. " We should just

enjoy the salad..." Paul replied, and he noticed Lucky had fallen asleep.

"Lady's choice!" Theodore said, in his husky, deep voice. " Should I sing

Tanya or should Octavia?" Theodore stared at Tanya and she seemed to

blush. Octavia simply put her wax hands underneath her chin, and smiled.

" I think Peter should decide!" Tanya laughed, and then Theodore moved

over to Peter and whispered casually in his ear," Should I sing Peter?"

Peter just chuckled and quickly agreed.

Chapter 5 : Memories

" Sure man, why don't you sing for us?"

Octavia took another sip of her apple martini and Paul was about to eat a

breadstick laying near the napkin in the center of the table but Octavia gave

him a dirty look. " Salad is a treat, don't you think?" She said sweetly to Paul

and then she snapped her fingers, the parrot sitting atop the salad table

slowly turning into a dark skinned woman with a bellhop uniform on. She

laughed and there were red gloves on her hands. Black highheels were on

her feet. " I always serve the drinks!" The woman said And she winked at

Victor.

Theodore stood atop the ampitheather

and he tapped the microphone to see if it was on.

" Yeah diner and music! Awesome!" Paul said.

Allen gazed at the nightsky the moon floating in a slight crescent and the tree leaves

shaking.

Theodore's tiger tail wagged back and forth and he looked around slowly.

" GO theodore!" Tanya said, having drunk a little too much beer.

"You're the greatest," She said, laughing.

Suddenly Allen felt very sleepy and he layed

his head on the table, his eyes heavy. Allen quickly fell asleep.

"I...feel really tired..." Mitch said, and

he suddenly fell asleep on the table. " What the hell..." Paul muttered, and

he too fell asleep, the beer taking it's effect. Peter then tried to get up but

he collapsed onto the ampitheater grass, falling asleep. Victor then fell

asleep at his seat too, his arm knocking the beer off the table as he dozed

off. Tanya was the last to fall asleep, resting her head on her hands, the

white tablecloth soft and inviting. She could hear Theodore singing and it

sounded like nothing she had ever heard before.

His voice sounded like a kind breeze and (song here)

The song seemed to go on for minutes the tiger serenading them all.

The bellhop woman who was serving drinks slowly moved near Tanya and

laughed. " Some people just can't hold their liquor!" She said mischevously.

Tanya was sound asleep for what seemed like hours. Crickets were chirping

as she slept and she wondered how long Octavia and Theodore had been

there. She had almost forgotten about everything they had been through

befre. Suddenly she heard the bellhop woman say...

WAKE UP!

Peter slowly dreamed of his highschool teacher. She had a tight black suit on and was wearing a grey lace blouse underneath.

She had a short black bob and a pencil skirt and was holding an apple in her hand. Everyone was sitiing in their chairs, scribbling notes and talking about the last show they

saw on tv. She then placed the apple on her nearby desk and she sauntered over to the chalkboard, and picked up the chalk laying on the metal railing near the board. She

scribbled a quick equation on the board and then looked at Peter, who was sitting attentively on the wooden desk that he had usually claimed during highschool. The apple

slowly lit up like a birthday candle from the stem, the top of it sparking wildly in vivid colors. " Peter, what is the answer to this equation?" She said slowly, and he simply

grimaced, unable to answer. He looked at the blackboard, the white chalk marked all over it. " Uh, your apple!" Peter said lowly, and his teacher put her hands on her hips,

and repeated herself. " The answer to the equation Peter?" He simply eyed the room and everyone around him seem to be annoyed that he didn't answer.

" Just answer the question!" Someone yelled.

" It's uh.." Peter's voiced choked as his dark hair hugged his face. The plants in the high school room began to spin around like carousels.

The chalk began to write by itself on the board, floating strangely and scribbling erraticly.

Suddenly Peter gasped as the apple on her desk exploded into sweet red and white pieces around the room. His teacher climbed atop her desk and crossed her legs, then pulled another apple out from her blouse. " That is incorrect!"

" Well, I know the answer," Someone cat called.  
She then watched as the other apple she had pulled from her blouse began to light up in her hand and she quickly threw it to where Peter was standing.

" I'm thinking! Give me a second.." The young man stammered.

His dream was quickly over.

Peter was the first to wake up, but they weren't at the ampitheater

anymore, they were near an old abandoned playground. His body was

laying on dead grass near a concrete pathway that led to the playground.

He awoke groggily and he had bed head, and someone had put the

switchblade comb back into his pocket. It was no longer nighttime but

daylight, and he saw his friends resting on the grass, deep in slumber.

"That was a really long nap.." Peter muttered, feeling a little better.

"What the fuck, weren't we just eating salad," Mitch said as he awoke

suddenly, the bright sun shining on him, as he looked around, the

ampitheater was nowhere in sight, just a large rainforest and a beat up

playground.

Allen slowly awoke, the frog from the shimmering lake resting

on his shoulder, and then Tanya and Victor awoke, Tanya stretching her

arms and Victor coughing slowly. Paul then woke up, his eyes watery but

feeling no worse for wear. " Damn, I had wanted to stay longer...what a

great piano.." Paul had said, slowly standing up. Peter saw there was a half

sphere jungle gym, a swing set, monkey bars, a sandbox, a whirling

platform, and four animal seats that had springs on them. There was a

duck, a panda, a giraffe, and a rabbit.

There was a small vending machine that looked like an eagle.

and you could put money in it to get certain books out of the machine.

It looked like it had worn out long ago, and a busted radio was lying near it,

along with random change scattered everywhere.

A beat up wooden sign read "Fun Playground," As if the six of them had

never seen a playground before.

They searched around the area for what seemed like

hours, but they found nothing but an old tire.

" How did we get here?" Tanya murmurred feeling angry. She stood up and

looked around, but there was just an old busstop in the distance near the

old playground. " This is so awesome you guys...we're stuck in the game

remember?" Victor said, but Allen just shook his head. "I thought we could

trust Octavia..." Allen muttered, and Peter could see someone sitting at the

busstop far away. " I think Octavia is at the busstop!" Peter yelled angrily,

and Mitch just laughed, noticing it was her sitting there far away. " Well, I'm

going to give her a piece of my mind!" Tanya said, the wooden swan resting

near her flapping its wings and landing on her shoulder.

" Hot girls always do that crap.." Mitch said, and there were old tattered

books all around the outside of the playground, and a red firehydrant was

sitting next to the swing set.

Mitch scratched his thigh lazily, everyone else still wearing thier

dark yellow shirts but him. Tanya then stepped forward a little wanting to

see more of the playground. " I remember these when I was little!" She

said, feeling a rush of nostalgia rush through her.

_"Don't you want to play?"_

"What was that?" Peter said, hearing something whisper ominously near them.

Tanya could hear something speaking, but wasn't sure what it was.

Something else hissed. Paul felt uneasy and walked away from the

playground. Victor looked around but knew it wasn't any of them.

_What awful people!_

Allen could hear something speaking meanly.

The sandbox seemed to erupt like a volcano, sand going everywhere.

"Look the only way we can get to Octavia is if we go past this playground.." Mitch said, not wanting to admit it. He punched a tree near the playground with his fist.

" I'm not going through that playground you guys.." Paul whined, crossing his arms.

" Look, we just have to run through it all at the same time, and we should be ok.." Victor said.

" Well I'm not walking through first..." Allen muttered, holding the frog in his hand again.

" We do have powers you guys..." Tanya said meekly, unsure of the situation.

" Well, I suppose if I go first, you guys could follow behind me. We just have to keep a brisk pace..." Peter said, hoping that his plan would work.

"I'll scout the playground, then we can all try to run through," Peter said lowly.

Peter then slowly started walking towards the playground, knowing something sinister lay ahead. He put his hands in his pockets, clutching his switchblade comb.

Suddenly a medium sized zebra appeared, staring at all of them , looking out of place in the playground.

" What is that?" Allen said, wondering what was keeping Peter.

" It's uh...a zebra...you guys.." Peter said, not feeling like going first was a good idea.

"Maybe you should come back Peter!" Victor whined, his mohawk visible in the sunlight.

Peter wanted to come back but he was too scared to move. The zebra stared at him coldly, it's eyes red and bloodshot.

"I think you should go help Peter," Mitch said, looking at Allen. You have that magic frog right?

"Do I have to..what bs.." Allen said.

Allen rolled his eyes, and walked quickly to where Peter was, the zebra slowly opening it's mouth.

" I think it's a rage zebra guys.." Paul muttered, holding one of the tattered books in his hands.

" What makes you say that?" Tanya questioned, the wooden swan on her shoulder flapping it's wings.

" It's in the book...right here..." Paul said, showing them the picture of the rage zebra. " It says it can regenerate and has a super shout..."

" You're seriously telling us that thing's a monster?" Tanya said, feeling slightly annoyed.

Suddenly the swing set started to move by itself, and the whirling platform started to spin darkly.

The rage zebra slowly opened it's mouth all the way and Tanya screamed as

a shout of energy erupted from it's jaws, like a small rippling wave.

Allen ran infront of Peter and held the frog in his hand and hummed, the

blast of energy moved erraticly past them, being shielded by Allen's green

barrier. "Shit it burns!" Allen said, and Peter fell next to Allen, the blast still

erupting from the rage zebra's mouth. "It's heading toward me! Help!" Paul said.

The animal seats were wildly moving back

and forth. Victor tried to move but he was too scared. The half sphere

jungle gym glowed white.

Mitch screamed in agony as he saw the blast shockwave had went through

the whole playground and had somehow hit Paul, and he lay dead on the

brown grass, his body like a wilted flower. The rage zebra closed it's mouth,

then turned toward Tanya. She gasped in fear.

" That thing is after me!" She moaned.

A large skull floated over Paul's body.

"What just happened?" Victor said, moving to Paul's body in anguish.

"He seemed to be allright just a second ago..." Tanya cried, feeling like she

should have helped more somehow.

"Dont let it get to you!" Mitch said, as he made the fire hydrant near the

playground erupt water and quickly turned the blast toward the rage zebra.

The rage zebra opened

it's mouth again, and it seemed to be slighter larger than it was before.

"Oh no, it's shouting!" Tanya screamed, shielding her body with her arms,

but the blast of water hit the rage zebra, and it was stunned for a few

seconds.

"Quick, use the swing set!" Allen yelled

"Gotcha" Tany agreed.

Tanya's swan stared at the swing

set and she snapped the seats off violently and she dragged them across

the cement so that they were sharp and jagged. The planks of swing set

flew into the rage zebra, hitting it in it's head and abdomen. The rage zebra fell over dead for a few seconds.

" Ha!" Mitch yelled.

Peter gasped in horror. "It's still alive!" He said, as the wooden planks somehow fell out of the rage zebra's body and it slowly stood back up.

It eyed Mitch evilly.

Tanya then ran to where Mitch was, not wanting to stand near the sandbox again.

"Ive got a plan!" Peter said, and he slowly moved to the monkey bars and turned into a seven foot eagle, his clothes falling to the cement below.

" Use your sphere on the zebra!" Peter said, not wanting to get hit by the shockwave blast.

" Uh...you can turn into an eagle?" Victor said, not sure of the situation.

"Help me bro!" Allen said, and Victor quickly made a copy of himself that got behind the rage zebra holding it's legs. It's body felt like a hot stove.

" Hurry!" Victor said.

_Don't you want to play? _Something hissed again.

The rage zebra turned towards Peter, and it opened it's mouth evilly, energy slowly flowing out of it.

Allen ran behind the rage zebra where his brother's clone was and

hummed, the frog croaking slightly. Allen felt like the zebra was inside his

mind and he wanted to scream. "Do it Peter!" Allen said, blood running

down his nose. The barrier encased the rage zebra magically.

Peter quickly glided towards the rage zebra, his wings razor sharp, the

dandelions and feathers flowing all around him. Tanya watched in awe as it

all happened.

He seemed to cut the rage zebra in half in a blink of an eye, and Allen fell

back, knocked back by the speed of Peter's eagle form. The rage zebra

yelled in agony, it's body split in half, and it slowly disappeared. A large

whistle lay in the ground where it used to be. The animal spring seats all fell

over, broken and busted.

" Did we really kill it," Tanya said sadly, not wanting to look at Paul's mangled form. She fell to her knees slowly.

"I think so," Peter said, his body walking back towards his clothes and he slowly got dressed again. His body was slightly sunburned.

Mitch found an old blanket near the side of the monkey bars and laid it over Paul's body.

" I should have never invited him to the Excitement Plaza.." Peter said, and Victor tried to stay calm.

"it's not your fault!" Tanya said, resting her hand on Peter's shoulder. No one knew that shout would be so destructive. The wooden swan on her shoulder preened itself quietly.

" Let's go to that busstop so I can give Octavia a piece of my mind!" Tanya

said her yellow high heels slightly dirty. They all walked quietly past the

playground, trying not to look back at Paul's body.

"This game is harder than I thought.." Allen muttered..the frog still resting in his hands. They made there way back to Octavia who was resting at the bus stop. She seemed to be painting her nails. Her wax form was protected by her silver bracelet.

" Oh you all look so blue," Octavia said, her legs crossed daintily, her paper mache dress clung to her body.

" Who the hell do you think you are?" Tanya said, and she stared at Octavia,

and Octavia simply laughed. " You didn't think that little show was free did

you?" Octavia said in a sing song voice. "Don't be mad...it's just how the

game is played." Mitch was mad but he still liked Octavia for some reason,

but Victor was upset at what had happened.

Allen didn't say anything but look clearly annoyed.

Octavia then stood up and started walking towards the nearby rainforest.

She passed an old sign that said speed limit 40 and twirled as she moved.

" Five left, I'm just pleased as punch," Octavia laughed, the swirl on her head still visible.

Her shiny black shoes seemed to click as she walked and she hurried into the blooming valley.

"I just want all of this to be over," Peter said, walking towards the plastic

rectangular bus stop and sitting atop the faded wooden seat. He took out

his switchblade comb and played with it for awhile. Tanya, Victor, Mitch

and Allen all rested at the bus stop, feeling defeated somehow. Mitch

noticed there were signs for bands he never heard of on the busstops sides.

An old lunchbox laid near the busstop, and worms were crawling through a rotten apple.

Night was encroaching again somehow, and as the sun set, Allen could see a bus floating magically overhead, passing over them like a flock of birds.

"It was so nice with Theodore and the salad though.." Tanya whined...not sure what to say.

"He did have a nice voice.."Victor said ,remembering it all fondly while he was falling asleep.

" Well atleast we still have a positive attitude," Peter groaned,putting the

switchblade comb back in his pocket. He remembered how he had never

been great at the piano even though he had practiced every day. How

Victor had helped him with Math, how Allen had showed him card tricks.

Was Callisto's court punishing him somehow?He didn't know for sure.

Tanya noticed Octavia's nail polish was still on the wooden seat, and she knocked it off angrily.

" She could have warned us about the playground.." Allen grumbled and he noticed that the frog seemed to like his company.

" Maybe we should sing coombaya, and all that, or huddle around," Mitch joked, thinking about ordering a pizza from the cute girl beside him.

" Well, if it ain't one thing it's another," Mitch said, stepping behind the bus stop so that he could go to sleep.

"Well atleast I got to see a flying bus," VIctor laughed, and he fell asleep

next to Tanya, Peter, Allen. The busstop proved a lasting comfort in all the

world.

The moon still hung crescent in the sky, and the crickets chirped once again.

After a long rest at the busstop, it was finally daylight again, and the

embraced the new day with caution. " So, if we follow Octavia into the

rainforest, I know something bad is going to happen.." Peter said, getting

up from the bus stop seat and doing a few stretches.

" I know it seems hopeless, but we have to continue moving forward,'Allen

said, and he slowly walked past the old busstop and the speed limit sign

and headed into the looming rainforest. "Shit!" It's found us! " Victor

screamed, as he saw the Ice Knight, large and uncaring, treading past the

old abandoned playground, to the busstop that was half a mile away. It's

chilled sword seemed to stay frozen in the scorching sun, it's armor

glistening coldy and produly. Victor quickly followed his brother into the

rainforest with exotic plants and flowers, and Tanya gasped in horror,

seeing the ice knight slowly heading towards them, reaching out its hand

eerily. She stood up from the seat where she had rested all night and ran

into the rainforest, the wooden swan on her shoulder still looking around.

Mitch grumbled, not knowing why that damn Ice Knight was in such a bad

mood, and quickly walked into the rain forest, feeling like he was being led

astray again. Peter closed his eyes in fear as the Ice Knight continue to

trudge closer to them, passing the whistle that had been laying in the

plaground, the monkey bars old and rusted. "Well it's now or never," Peter

said and he hurried into the rainforest, following his friends. The apple near

the busstop seemed to be ripe again, and Peter wondered way lay ahead in

the forest.

Chapter 6: Gas Station

Peter brushed past large leaves and exotic plants of red, yellow,

and blue, and walked into a clearing where his friends where, seeming to

be an empty spot in the rainforest. " I feel alot better being away from that

hullking thing," Tanya said, crossing her arms as she stared at the birds of

paradise growing near her feet. There was a large waterfall that seemed to

be nestled in the clearing of the rainforest, and Peter slowly approached

them, looking at the water crash down harshly. " That ice knight is coming

for us you guys, what will we do?" Victor said, his throat horse from the

night before. Allen stared at the large exotic trees that seemed to tower

overhead, and he wondered if there was a way out of the rainforest.

They all walked for what seemed like hours, passing old rotten trees, and

lush exotic plants. There was a large gorge with a small wooden bridge and

they had to pass over it in order to get to the other side. The bridge must

have been fifteen feet long, but they made it through while looking at the

plants and blossoms hanging overhead.

There seemed be vines and roots everywhere, along with ferns that ran all

along the side of the forest. Shoots of bamboo seemed to be nestled near

the water, and Allen could hear the waves crashing down.

" Can't we just leave this game somehow?"

Mitch complained as he wondered about the journey they had taken so far.

" Let's keep going I'm sure we'll find something," Tanya said, and they all

moved deeper into the rainforest, their sight obstructed by hanging foilage

and drooping flowers. Finally they came to larger clearing that had very

little plant life next to it, but there were large stones scattered everywhere

and there was a small opening where leaves where growing, but they

couldn't tell where it lead to. Patches of grass and vines blocked the way

except for the small opening, and Victor could hear the ice Knight rumbling

through the rainforest, snakes and small golden lemurs moving wilding in

the distance. " We're in trouble you guys!"

Allen screamed as he saw the icy blade of the ice knight slowly peak

through the rainforest leaves. It's helmet seemed to have an icy aura,

wisps of it flowing from it's eyes.

" We can do this!" Peter said, and Mitch, Tanya, Victor and

Allen stood side by side, as the ice knight approached them, the hulking

assassin atleast ten feet tall. " I'll try to distract it!" Tanya said, her wooden

swan opening it's mouth as she whipped the ice knight with long strands of

flowers hanging near the waterfall. Pieces of bamboo seemed to erupt like

daggers, hitting the ice knight in the knees as it roared in pain, It swung it's

icy sword wildly and they all ducked underneath the blade, but it somehow

opened it's other hand and sharp snowflakes flew out of it's palm, like

sharp shurikens. One of the snowflakes hit Tanya in the shoulder and Peter

in the neck, and he pulled it out quickly, his wound not too bad in the

rainforest thickness. The ice knight screeched and flung more razor sharp

snowflakes from it's pal, but Allen ran infron of them all and hummed

quickly, fear flowing through his body. The green barrier seemed to shield

him from all the frostbitten razor sharp snowflakes, bouncing off the

barrier like rubber bands, but the small frog in his hands seemed tired.

It croaked slowly and the green barrier casually faded from around his body and he shook with fear, his dreadlocks swaying in the rainforest.

No!" Allen screamed, tears running down his cheeks. " I can't use the barrier anymore!" He yelled.

" I think the frog only works for so long!" Mitch said, and he noticed that

Peter looked pretty pale. He wanted to help but the waterfall was too far away.

Victor suddenly stood infront of Allen and he felt a new energy rising in his

body. It was like he had turned into a battery.

" I got this, stand behind me!" Victor said, as electricity seemed to move

through his limbs. Wind seemed to swirl underneath his legs. He felt new

power rising.

Tanya gasped in horror and she seemed to hold the great knight in place

with the vines from the rainforest. The swan on her shoulder moved wildly,

and Peter stood there, watching it all, holding his yellow shirt to the wound

on his neck.

The ice knight let out a deafening yell, and one of it's arms broke free, and

it swung it sword quickly, ice visible on all the surrounding plants as the

blade passed them. Victor yelled in anger as electricity slowly flowed from

his body and hit the tip of the ice knight's sword, and the ice knight's blade

striked Victor's stomach and he screamed in pain.

The ice knight moved back in agony, It's iron greaves seemed to crack in

the light of the rainforest. The surge of Victor's electricty moved through

it's icy body like dominoes, and it slowly exploded, chunks of ice and armor

flying everywhere. Mitch and Tanya covered thier faces with their arms,

and Allen and Peter stood far back as the thing slowly fell to the tropical

earth, it's body like a broken toy amidst all the carnage. " Hell yeah!" Mitch

cheered, but Allen rushed to Victor, seeing his brother clutching his

stomach with his free hand. "Sorry, I didn't know he got wounded,' Mitch

said.

"It's ok.." Allen murmured, and Tanya covered her hands with her mouth.

Peter walked over to Victor, seeing his friend still fiesty as ever even when

wounded. " That icy bastard got me..." Victor said, and he was too scared to

look at the wound on his body.

" You really helped out man, don't beat yourself up," Mitch said, trying to hold back tears.

Victor then closed his eyes and he slowly died

in his brother's arms. A skull floated above Victor's body, and Tanya sighed.

Allen seemed to cry for a few minutes, and them Mitch and Tanya seemed

to be stunned by what had happened.

"I'm so sorry Allen!" Tanya said, wishing she could have helped more.

" You were a real friend, Victor,I don't know what we'll do now..." Peter

said, still holding his yellow shirt to the wound on his neck.

He looked down in defeat, not sure of what to make of it all. "

Give me a minute please," Allen said feeling depressed and Tanya

nodded, knowing the only way to go was the opening in the rainforest.

" I'll be here if you need me!" Peter said and he slowly walked toward the

opening in the rainforest, Tanya following slowly behind him. Mitch patted

Allen on the back and then followed Tanya and Peter into the leafy

opening. The sun seemed to blind Peter as he squinted and looked at the

almost deserted concrete valley before him, wondering how much more of

this game he could take. " I didn't want to leave Allen behind, but there was

no other way, " Mitch grumbled, and Tanya and Peter stood outside the

opening to the rainforest, seeing a large gas station that looked like it had

been built just months ago. " Wow, a new gas station," Tanya said in

surprise, her shoes muddy from the treak through the rainforest, feeling

exhausted. Mitch could see that the gas station had two windows, one on

the left and one on the right, and There was a large yellow roof ontop of it.

A large square TV rested inside the gas station, and all three of them

wondered if anyone was inside. Suddenly, a singing grizzly bear with

shades appeared on the screen, and Peter looked in puzzlement as it began

to move cartoonishly across the screen, and Mitch started to laugh for

some reason. " Is that a rapping grizzly bear?" Tanya groaned, and she

noticed Allen appear beside her. wondering how he could recover from his

loss so soon. " I guess the grizzly bear wanted us to see this gas station.."

Allen murmured, still holding the resting frog in his hands. " Well my neck is

still messed up so let's go check out that gas station!" Peter grumbled, his

skin becoming paler and paler. " Maybe the answers are inside!" Mitch said

as they all walked to the gas station door, but as soon as Mitch tried to

open it, he noticed a large black sports car appear about 8 feet away from

the gas station. The door was locked. The tv flickered wildly, and the

rapping grizzly bear looked at them all. " Hey, Yo, what ya know!" I'm glad

all four of you could make it!" The rapping bear said, and Mitch ran his

hands through his hair, and Tanya yawned slowly. The bear adjusted the

shades on it's face and pointed to the sports car. " Well, Octavia told me

you guys wanted to go back home so..." The bear smiled at them all

through the screen, and suddenly the doors of sports car opened, and Peter

gasped in relief, his switchblade comb still in his pocket. " Can we really just

leave this place behind," Allen said, and Tanya felt like making pizza was the

easiest thing in the world now. " But...only two of you can enter the sports

car fo sho!" The grizzly bear sang, and Peter sighed, wondering if his

parents were worried about him. Octavia slowly appeared from behind the

gas station and Peter looked at her angrily. " What the hell do you want?"

He said, and she sighed,twirling towards them all. " Some say the way out

of Callisto's court is through the sports car..." Octavia purred but Allen

wasn't buying it. "We can't trust you!" He said, but she seemed relieved to

hear his distrust. "Well, I'll put it bluntly," Octavia said, not wanting to tell

them the news. " All six of you were attacked in the arcade, by a shady

person," Octavia said, not wanting to go into details.

"I fucking knew it!" Mitch said

" Just great," Tanya said and she fell to the ground slowly, unable

to catch her breath.

Tanya noticed there was a large black stage next to the gas station. It had silver metal lining around the edges,

and a largesound system seemed to be propped right behind it. " Woah, a sound stage near a gas station?" Mitch

said, feeling a little better. Tanya covered her mouth in horror as four skeletons slowly appeared on the stage, thier

bones rising from the tarmack like puppets on a string and eerily snapping in place. The skeletons had flames

erupting from thier eye sockets and black smoke started to form around them, malevolent instruments appearing

and resting in their hands.

" Oh shit, evil skeletons?" Allen said, still depressed from his brother's passing.

" My neck still kinda hurts," Peter moaned, and a skeleton pointed it's finger right at him.

" Are you ready to rock?" The skeleton hissed, and began

strumming his jet black guitar, and Mitch began headbanging.

" This isn't funny!" Allen said, and noticed his frog was still asleep.

" I know," Mitch muttered, and Tanya looked around for something to lift with

her mind.

Peter began to turn into an eagle one last time, his form slightly glowy and white. He looked like a large

seven foot bird, and all four skeletons slowly snapped their heads towards him.

" I'll slice them apart!" Peter said confidently, but the skeletons seemed unfazed.

" Amazing grace...how sweet the sound.." The skeleton screeched and a large black bolt of lightning flew out from

his guitar and shocked Peter, and he yelled in pain. " Get away from the stage!" Peter said, and his feathers flew

everywhere as he slowly writhed around in eagle form. The black smog seemed to hover around the

concert stage, white runes emenating from where the skeletons stood.

Allen moved back, feeling uneasy, his legs shaking.

" That saved a wretch, like meeee!" Another skeleton said,

slamming the drums wildly, and a large stone rock shot out from the ground, right near Tanya, and sliced her thigh

like a knife."

Mitch began to pee himself a little, wondering what else the skeletons were going to do.

" That's cheating.." Tanya said hotly, and lifted a nearby water jug and hurled it at the drum smashing skeleton.

" How about a drink?" She said.

Mitch eyed the plastic water jug and it exploded, sending ice cold water over the skeletons.

" Nice move," Peter said, his beak slightly burnt.

Another skeleton strummed it's eletric piano, and the ground began to rot and boil.

" That saved..a wretchhhhhhh, like meeeeeeee!" It bellowed..

It's bony fingers seemed to glide easily over the black and white piano keys.

Mitch threw up quickly, feeling slightly ill.

" This is messed up!" Peter said, in too much pain to move as he became a

human again, holding his self steady.

" Now once was lost, but now I'm fouuuunnnndddd!" The skeleton hissed, the hard rock version of amazing grace

echoing near the gas station. He yelled into his microphone and Allen's arm flew off, his frog still sound alseep.

Blood seemed to fly everywhere.

" Amazinggg graceeeeee..." THe skeleton laughed, it's eyes still ablaze.

Mitch gasped in horror, and Tanya could see the rotting ground inch closer and closer towards them.

"Hurry up and freeze them!" Tanya said, Mitch still concentrating on the skeletons.

" It hurts you guys.." Allen cried, staring at his bleeding arm and Ocatavia snapped her fingers, and his arm slowly re-

materialized like a piece of clay.

" Enough is enough," The wax woman cooed, and the skeletons chattered their teeth angrily.

"You're a bad groupie!" THe skeleton hissed, and he threw a fireball at Peter, but he quickly rolled away from it.

Tanya held the wooden swan on her shoulder and Allen couldn't believe his arm was back to normal.

" You should chill out!" Mitch said dramatically, and all the skeletons finally froze into place from the water, and

Tanya breathed a sigh of relief. The black smoke surrounding them dissipated, and the ground seemed to stop

rotting.

A woman slowly appeared from the rainforest clearing

wearing a tattered dress and boots. She looked kind of tired.

" Hi, sorry for attacking you all earlier.." She said.

" Who are you?" Peter asked, seeing she had alluring eyes.

"My name is Orchid, I was the rage zebra," She admitted

woefully, remembering she had carried a whistle around a long time ago.

" I guess I felt angry seeing all of you so happy," She played with a lock of

her hair, and Mitch and Allen stared at her.

Octavia put her hands on her hips, and stared at Orchid.

She then turned toward Peter again.

" I wanted to see which one of you should wake up in

the hospital, so I devised this little game..." Octavia said, not sure of what

they would think. Peter felt confusion and rage roll through his body.

" I've been injured this whole time?" Peter said, and he kicked the gas

station pump, wondering why he always got into situations like this.

" It's allright, I know how hard the world can be..." Octavia smiled, and then

she gave Peter a bag of chocolate turtles, hoping he wouldn't mind.

" Well, uh I can stay here..." Mitch offered, not wanting to get in the sports

car greedily. " Thanks man!" Allen said, and he hugged Mitch, and stood

near the side of the gas station, wondering what the rest of them would do.

"Well I feel lke I want to go back, but..." Peter looked angrily at them all but

laughed. " I guess I should have looked at what was happening!" He said

aloud not really remembering it all. " I'll miss you crazy bad boy Peter!"

Tanya teased, and kissed him on the cheek, and he felt slightly less

nauseous. " Take care of my frog will ya?" Allen said and he handed it to

Mitch, and he took it slowly.

" Well, I guess my work here is done, " Octavia said, and pulled a

key from her dress and unlocked the gas station and stepped inside. Her

paper mache dress shook as she entered. Lucky was inside the gas station and seemed to bark wildly,"

" You guys are tough!" Allen could hear the dog say, it's tail wagging back and forth.

" Please Don't forget about me ya'll!"Mitch said, and Peter waved at Tanya

and Allen as they entered the black sports car.

" Maybe we'll meet again someday!" Peter teased, and he

ripped open the bag of chocolate turtles and put some in his mouth.

Orchid walked quickly and stood beside Peter and she wondered why Octavia was so catty.

" Man, my neck is still hurting.." He grumbled, and the wound seemed to close as he ate the chocolate turtles.

" Why did I go with you guys to that cheesy arcade!" Allen laughed, and got inside the sports car. He would never forget his brother.

" Maybe I need a vacation,"Tanya grumbled, and the doors to the black

sports car closed, and she seemed at ease. The sports car seemed to drive away

into the distance, and the clouds near the gas station hovered peacefully.

Mitch, Peter and Orchid all started to walk away from the gas station, but they could still hear Lucky barking lowly.

" I feel like I've been stuck in a dream…" Orchid said lazily, as she adjusted the belt

On her tattered dress.

"Well, I'm sure there must be something around here we can explore.." Mitch groaned., feeling like he was the unluckiest person in the world.

"Hey wasn't that gas station the one you used to work at Mitch?" Peter asked quickly remembering Mitch had taken him to his job one tine.

" Yeah man," Mitch said, recalling it all. Mitch seemed to have a flashback.

" What do you mean these slushies are five dollars?" The woman yelled, clutching her credit card in her hand.

" I"ve never been so robbed!" She bellowed.

" Look ma'm, I don't make the prices for the slushies," Mitch said dryly, feeling like this woman just wanted a free drink.

" Well then, I'll take my money elsewhere!" She said, and walked out the gas station store, feeling cheated somehow.

" Geez, what a lousy person!" Mitch complained, still wearing his gas station uniform, and drinking the two slushies the woman left behind. There was a magazine next to the cash register, and he flipped through it slowly.

"That place really sucked.." Mitch said, snapping back to the present.

" And we're still stuck in Callisto's court!" Peter said, walking through the meadow, feeling sad and alone. " Atleast Tanya and Allen got out!" Peter grumbled.

'" I hope I didn't cause you two too much trouble…" Orchid said, walking with them at a brisk pace through the meadow. " I just remember being outside and suddenly falling to my knees, feeling a great pain in my shoulders," Orchid complained, remembering she had worked out too much.

" You must have overdid yourself at the gym!" Mitch said, staring at the pretty woman in the tattered dress.

" Well, I always thought working out was a good idea.." Orchid mumbled…and then noticed a large building in this distance.

" Oh my gosh, It's a mall!" Mitch said, feeling like he lucked up somehow. The mall towered like the leaning tower of Piza, feeling crooked to him somehow.

Peter crooked his head to try to straighten the mall out mentally.

'Well…I don't want to go inside an abandoned mall, Peter complained, seeing sprinkles appear out the ground from nowhere, watering the meadow they were standing on magically.

" But it's such a nice day! Can't we go to the mall?" Orchid whined, and suddenly she screamed, seeing a large buffalo charge at them.

" Where did that buffalo come from?" Mitch said, as it rushed past him, hitting his shoulder harshly.

" Just what I needed, anther crazy monster," Peter said, since there were only a short distance from the looming crooked mall.

The buffalo quickly turned around and charged back at them, but Peter jumped back, the sprinklers soaking his clothes as he ran from the creature.

"Give us some peace!" Orchid screamed, and a shockwave of energy erupted from where she stood, sending the buffo tumbling to it's side quickly.

" Hey not bad," Mitch said, but the buffalo somehow rocked itself back onto it's feet, and began charging at Mitch again, it's horns somehow shining in the meadow light.

Mitch concentrated on sprinkler next to the buffalo, and the water shooting out turned into shards of ice, causing the buffalo to get hit with tons of needle like particles.

The buffalo roared in pain, and then slowly ran away from them, feeling defeated.

" What, just running away!" Peter said, and he wondered if Theodore was still at the amphitheater that had somehow been lost from sight.

" Well I'm going to the mall!" Orchid said, and she ran into the building foolishly, and Mitch could see the mannequins in the window, looking beat up and worn.

"I wonder if we should follow her," Peter said to Mitch, and Mitch simply smiled.

" Let's do it for Victor and Paul!" Mitch said, and he and Peter quickly headed into the large crooked mall, wondering

what lie inside. A sign hung over the mall's front that read, " Palace Mall."

Chapter 7: Rain

" Sure ain't no palace to me," Mitch said, and Peter disagreed,

" Not all malls have to look fancy man," Peter said, and he noticed Orchid standing next to a plastic plant right by the mall's entrance.

" Oh I just love malls!" Orchid cheered, and she kept looking around wondering what to expect.

"I wonder what types of shops are in here.." Peter groaned, seeing that the mall was abandoned.

The shops were full of clothes and decorations and electronics, but no one was working inside them.

" This sucks!" Orchid said. " I can't buy anything if no one works here!"

She passed by a small plastic bench and a mall directory marquee, and a large

Escalator that led up to the second floor.

"I have a feeling this mall is hiding something!" Peter said, and he walked into a small shop, stealing a baseball cap, and he put it on his head.

" Wow, you look great!" Orchid said, laughing.

Mitch then sat down on another plastic bench, and heard music playng slowly in the mall distance.

A large woonden vendor station selling cookies seemed out of place, as the cookies were all fresh and seemed to gleam inside the glass.

Peter didn't know what to expect, but atleast his friends were with him.

Peter gazed around, and he saw that the lights in the mall were flickering on and off in certain places.

" I think this mall's seen better days," Mitch laughed, and he stol an old cookie from an abandoned cookie kiosk.

" Maybe you just need that cookie to cheer you up!" Orchid laughed, and she remembered that day at the park.

She was standing there, watching the children play. She had been on a diet, because her boss had said she was too

chubby. So she had found a new way to eat, a way to feel more relaxed. But then she started working out all the

time, and she would go to the park to have some time to herself. THe playground seemed to relax her, and she gasped as

a man suddenly slapped her ass, and quickly winked at her. " Piss off!" She yelled angrily, feeling like guys treated her like

that all the time. She had noticed she had lost a lot of weight, but didn't think anything of it. She had bought a bright

pink whistle recently and had been wearing it around her neck, but then suddenly she felt dizzy and she had collapsed, not

remembering anything for a while. Then she met those strange people at the playground, wondering if they thought

bad of a young woman like her. " Some people say cookies are good for the soul!" Mitch laughed, and he threw Orchid the cookie, and

she caught it and bit into it greedily. Suddenly she saw some people appear in the stores, and she seemed to be filled with

amazement. Peter seemed shocked as well, and he stood up, baseball cap still on his head.

" Well well, you made it to the mall," Theodore said, appearing from one of the shops, his tight suit still clutching his

muscular body, his tail swaying slowly. " It seems like there are only three of you now though, which is a pity..."

Theodore said, a cigarette appearing in his man-like hand and he puffed on it, his eyes cold and uncaring.

Peter then picked up a baseball bat from a nearby sports shop and held it tightly in his hands.

" We don't want any trouble, ok?" Peter said, feeling slight aroused around Theodore.

" Aw, did you want a hug?" Theodore said dryly, and he began choking Peter with his mind.

" I...can't...breath..." Peter said, dropping the baseball bat as Theodore's outstretch arm seemed to be holding him

in place. He put his hands to his throat.

" Shhh..." Theodore said, licking his lips.

" Let him go or I'll scream..." Orchid said, energy seeming to resonate from her body, her dress slightly lifting.

Theodore turned his head towards her and winked.

" Sure, anything you say," And he quickly dropped his arm, and Peter collapsed to the ground, trying to regain his breath.

"Octavia told us about the arcade incident!" Mitch said, and Theodore simply sneered.

" Damn, did she? I had wanted to show you the newspaper clipping myself," Theodore said, and quickly moved infront of Mitch, almost teleporting.

" Don't let this mall fool you, it's like a maze, and once you enter my maze, it takes a LONG time to get out..."

The tiger man said, and Mitch quickly punched him in the face.

" Just shutup!" Mitch said angrily

" Ouch,!" Theodore winced, and he punched Mitch in the chest and he flew back, hitting the cement wall and

becoming unconscious again.

" What a bastard.." Orchid said, biting her lip.

" Well until we meet again.." Theodore said curtly, and he stepped into one of the

malls stalls, almost vanishing into the shop.

Peter then stood up and moved Mitch's body to a bench, where he was sound asleep.

A map slowly appeared where they stood and he glanced at it, it seemed to shine in the light of the mall.

" Well atleast we have a map..' Orchid said, and Peter quickly picked it up.

Tanya awoke in the hospital, her wounds starting to heal slightly. She felt

like a ton of bricks and someone had changed the pillow underneath her

neck. She saw that a large cup of jello was near her, resting on the table, and

she was glad to have survived the incident at the arcade. She had

remembered opening up the Excitement Plaza days ago, and putting on her

silk blouse and black Excitement Plaza apron. She wondered how Allen was

doing, after the nurse told her four of her friends didn't make it. Suddenly,

Tanya's boyfriend came running into her room, clutching a bouquet of

flowers and a get well card. She had remembered putting purple dye in her

hair that day after seeing a music video with an attractive singer on it, purple

locks swaying. Tanya grumbled to herself slowly. " I brought you some more

stuff,'' her boyfriend said, smiling. Allen slowly awoke in his hospital bed, the

nurse saying the arcade was closed for a few days. He nodded to her quickly,

remembering that his brother had been building a small toy race car while

thier dad was off at work. He had been listening to an R&B album while his

work was being finished. His mother had left him some fruit and a card, and

he had remembered being stuck in the hospital bed for the time being. " I

reached for the payphone then everything went black," He remembered

telling the nurse a few minutes ago. There was a large stuffed bear on the

wooden table near the tv, and he slowly ate an apple. The lamp near his bed

hummed slowly, and he glanced at the white ceiling. " Wish Peter were

here.." Allen said slowly to himself, wondering why his brother had to go out

like that. The rain slowly began to pour outside, and a flock of birds seem to

fly overhead in a v shape. The birds seemed to make bleating noises as they

went, and Tanya began sipping a small cup of coffee near her bed, the cup

warm in her hands. The nurse had told her that Peter's parents had recieved

something special after the incident, and she wondered if Mitch and Paul's

parents had recieved the same. The nurse in the room looked at the young

woman and began smiling, her nails painted the same shade that had been on

the wooden bench in the enchanted game before...

The End


End file.
